Ana Ivanovic confident of being fit for Australian Open despite suffering stomach muscle tear at Hopman Cup

Ana Ivanovic remains optimistic she will be fit for the Australian Open, the
first grand slam of the year, despite withdrawing from next week's Sydney
International because of a minor stomach muscle tear.

Upbeat: Ana Ivanovic hopes to recover from stomach muscle tear in time for start of Australian OpenPhoto: REUTERS

The 23 year-old Serb withdrew from the Hopman Cup on Friday after suffering the injury during her loss to Belgium's Justine Henin.

She has been told to rest for three or four days but says she is "positive" she will play at the Australian Open, which begins on Jan 17.

Ivanovic's withdrawal handed Belgium a place in the final of the mixed doubles team on Saturday.

The Serbian pairing of Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic were top seeds and led Group A after winning two of their three round-robin ties, with Belgian duo Henin and Ruben Bemelmans second despite beating the Serbs on Thursday.

Tournament director Paul McNamee confirmed that Belgium would replace Serbia in the final and play the US pairing of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and John Isner.

"The rules are very clear. In the round robin if a player can't play they can be substituted by another player, but if a player cannot play the final, the team that is second-placed in the group goes through to the final," he said.

McNamee said reigning French Open champion Francesca Schiavone was not in doubt for the Australian Open, despite retiring from her singles match on Friday with an upper leg injury.